This series contains the final Rheostatics live shows that are left to write about–except for their “final shows” and their “reunion shows (which I really hope to see some day).” This was the 6th night of their 10 night Fall Nationals run at the Horseshoe. It was a free Tuesday night.

Note: After the encore break Ford Pier plays a solo version of Diaphanous Heart and then Dave fortuitously jokes that the band just decided to break up.

As the show opens, Dave says they’d like to that Kat and Leeroy for playing with them tonight. He then says that this is their fifth night, “lucky number 5.” But it clearly isn’t.

They open the set with a stretched out version of “Fat.” Mike asks, does that stand for “File Allocation Table?” Dave: “Of course is does.” “Aliens” has an unusually heavy riffing opening but then the song is played fairly straight. During the quiet part, Dave doesn’t play anything else but there’s some pretty twinkling keys from Ford. The song ends with an unexpected guitar solo. And as the band starts to play the next song, there’s more soloing–a solo unlike what Martin typically does. I assumed it was a guest but apparently not. And yet, it lasts for just a moments before the song becomes “Claire.” Martin’s got some interesting guitar sounds going on for the lengthy solo.

Martin tries the opening of “Torque Torque” but it sounds wrong–naw it didn’t work. Dave: “Bit of a clunker.” The next try is fine although there’s a really ugly moment in the middle of the song where the chord is just wrong. But they get past it pretty quickly.

Dave announces that that was from the film Whale Music, the soundtrack to which is available on zunior.com, a site that is making our musical available digitally. “We also just released a recording called Calling Out the Chords Vol. 1 which is a recording of last years’ Fall Nationals. It’s a 12 song souvenir of that event.”
Ford: “I’m astounded that this is volume one. What do you need someone to take out a fistful of money and burn it in front of you before you get a goddamn clue?”
Dave: “I thought vol, 1 because you know those albums like Cruisin Vol 1. No one every goes, ‘Wheres Vol. 2?”
Ford: “I felt that way about Kill Bill. There’s more? Ew. A martial arts movie with no martial artists?”

When they start “It,” Martin jumps a ahead to the dinosaurs verse and then says “Is it the wrong verse?” Dave tells him to go back and they more or less start over. This time when he gets to the dinosaurs, he roars. Next up is “Queer” which rocks. Before the end coda, Ford take a lengthy jazzy piano solo. It’s followed by “Pornography” which feels a little rushed. There’s some ugly static on the guitar.

When the song is over Ford asks who watched the Grey Cup. “Everybody did, naturally. And you all saw The Black Eyed Peas and enjoyed them very much. And you know that woman Fergie? She was one the voice of Charlie Brown’s little sister Sally in the Peanuts cartoons [this is true]. And now, when you watch the special and she says ‘My Sweet Babboo’ you’ll hear her saying ‘My humps, my humps’ and that’s just wrong.”
Dave: “Yeah, but what a band. And what a great cup.”

After a nice “Sunshine at Night” Dave introduces Ford: “all the way from Edmonton, via Vancouver, via Eastern Europe, that’s Ford Pier on the keyboards.”

Then Dave thanks everyone who donated to Alpha and Huron Schools (Tim’s daughter goes to Alpha and my son goes to Huron, and they’re both co-op and they need it. You gotta love a new toilet, right? Everybody remembers their first toilet. You probably had some pretty crude toilets in Caprino, eh Martin?”
Martin: “oh yea! Toilet technology is catching up, but in the 70s it was primitive. In my aunt’s bar, there was a hole and two porcelain footprints. And it reeked.”

Martin starts tuning and then does a really awful chord–“whoa, I tuned it cool.” Mike: that’s some serious positive reinforcement… Shit, I slept in. Cool.”

Martin says the next song is about a rock musician with a special haircut, a pompadour. It’s a great version of “Sweet, Rich, Beautiful and Mine” and it’s followed by a particularly intense version of “The Land is Wild.” Written by “Dave Augustino Bidini.” Dave really screams during the “it didn’t have to be” part. And he has now added the final verse about Fogarty’s death.

There’s a huge reaction when “Here Comes the Image” begins and it features Augustino on the rums and Wojewoda on the synths.

Out of the blue Dave asks, what was your favorite Triumph album, hammer or anvil? Then Dave says that the band Anvil were from Etobicoke and were originally called Lips.

Dave says the next song is dedicated to Ford’s shirt (someone in the crowd shouts we love you Ford Pier). It’s “P.I.N.” and this time it ends with them chanting “I love my humps, my lovely lady lumps.”

Dave says that “Mumbletypeg” is one of those jump up and down songs, just like the last one. They end the set with “Satan Is The Whistler: which totally rocks. Martin ends it with his robot voice and then go to an encore break.

After the break, Ford comes out to sing a solo song on guitar. It’s his song “Diaphonous Hairshirt” which I’d never heard before. It’s catchy but also a little odd, with some interesting vocal lines. Then he goes back to the synth and plays some pretty intro music. Dave says he wants to tell everyone the band wants to break up. Mike: “And then we can get on with our lives.” (They would officially break up in January).

Martin starts counting 1, 2, 3, and keeps going up to 18. Dave says “if my kids heard you do that they’d think you were a god. How did he remember so many numbers in order?” They play “Fan Letter To Michael Jackson,” but instead of the “Michael” chant, Dave shouts Autobahn! Then during the slow part, Dave sings “fun fun fun in the autobahn.” He continues, “Always defer to the Germans. Always defer to krautrock when you’re looking for a good rock n roll slogan.” Martin starts singing “It feels good to be alive” with a German accent.

The end the night with Part 2 of “The Ballad of Wendel Clark” It segues perfectly into Stompin’ Tom’s “Bridge Came Tumbling Down.” Before continuing Dave chastises, “Stop looking at your camera, sir” and then they end “Wendel” and say good night.

That’s nearly two hours of free music.

[READ: July 21, 2017] Science Comics: Flying Machines

I really enjoyed this book about Flying Machines. When I heard the title (without the subtitle) I assumed it was just going to be a book about various flying machines. I didn’t realize it was going to be a story of the Wright Brothers (and their competition).

And even better is that the story is told by their sister Katharine Wright. We get a brief bio of her in the beginning and then a longer (but still brief) sketch of her at the end. Katharine was the youngest child in the family and when their mother died (when Katharine was 14) she took over the family work. She was also her father’s secretary as well as Orville and Wilbur’s “public relations director”–she dealt with kings and queens for them.

The story begins with Katharine trying to teach flight to an unruly classroom of kids (including one who needs to go to the bathroom). And then she flashes back. I love the way Brooks does this flashback, with Katharine as a kind of blue and white ghost look where she observes the other panels in full color. The inspiration for her brothers wanting to fly was their father’s bringing home a hélicoptère–a small wooden “bat” that spun and flew. It was designed by Alphonse Pénaud, he never made one big enough for people to fly, but inspired many.

The Wrights were from Ohio but they drove to Kitty Hawk to test their planes because the place was flatter and windier.

The book shows all of the people who tried to master flight (and the names of their ships) (more…)